Systems and methods for providing program suggestions in an interactive television program guide

ABSTRACT

An interactive television program guide application is provided that queries a user regarding the user&#39;s interest in television programs and suggests television programs to the user based on the user&#39;s responses. The interactive television program guide application identifies a television program that is potentially of interest to the user. The interactive television program guide application then queries the user regarding the user&#39;s interest using questions that are formulated based on attributes associated with the identified television program. Using the user&#39;s responses to the questions, the interactive television program guide application identifies and suggests one or more television programs to the user.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/593,618, Dec. 4, 2019, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/509,312, filed Jul. 11, 2019, now U.S. Pat. No.10,986,407, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/941,981, filed Nov. 16, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,484,740, which isa continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/557,077, filedDec. 1, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,191,719, which is a continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/165,209, filed Jun. 21, 201, nowU.S. Pat. No. 8,904,441, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/703,989, filed Nov. 6, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No.7,984,468, each of which is herein incorporated by reference in itsentirety, respectively.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to television systems, and more particularly,this invention relates to interactive television systems such asinteractive television program guide systems that suggest televisionprograms to a user.

Cable, satellite, and broadcast television systems provide users with alarge number of television channels. Users have traditionally consultedprinted television program schedules to determine the programs beingbroadcasted at a particular time. As the number of available programshas increased, various television program guides, such as interactivetelevision program guides, have been developed to help users selecttelevision programs of interest.

In some known systems, an interactive television program guideapplication allows a user to supply selection criteria which are used bythe interactive television program guide application to selecttelevision programs that are of interest to the user. The selectedtelevision programs may be, for example, displayed for the user,recorded on a personal video recorder, or added to the user's favoritelist. Interactive television program guide applications that selecttelevision programs for a user based on user-defined selection criteriaare described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,706,121, 5,353,121, and6,133,909.

Usually, the user of such known systems is required to specify a list ofselection criteria and request a search based on the criteria to enablethe interactive television program guide application to selecttelevision programs that are potentially of interest to the user. Such aprocess for providing a user with recommended programming can betedious. Furthermore, some users may not even be aware that an optionexists to allow specification of such selection criteria.

Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an interactive televisionprogram guide application that automatically queries a user regardingthe user's interest in various television programs to assist the user inselecting future television programs of interest.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, an interactive televisionprogram guide application is provided that automatically queries a userregarding the user's interest in various television programs. Theinteractive television program guide application uses the user'sresponses to suggest to the user television programs that arepotentially of interest.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the interactive televisionprogram guide application may monitor the user's television viewingpattern to identify a television program that is potentially of interestto the user. For example, the interactive television program guideapplication may determine that the user's viewing pattern associatedwith a television program satisfies one or more predetermined criteriafor identifying potential television programs of interest (e.g., theuser has continuously watched the television program for a time periodthat is greater than a predetermined time period). In making such adetermination, the interactive television program guide application maymark the television program as a potential television program ofinterest.

The interactive television program guide application may then query theuser using questions that are formulated based on attributes associatedwith the identified potential television program of interest. Forexample, the interactive television program guide application maydetermine from an attribute associated with the television program thatthe program is a movie having a sequel. In response to making thisdetermination, the interactive television program guide application mayformulate a question to prompt the user to set a reminder for thesequel.

Using the user's responses to the various questions, the interactivetelevision program guide application may identify one or more televisionprograms to suggest to the user.

Further features of the invention, its nature and various advantageswill be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the followingdetailed description of the preferred embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an illustrative interactive television system inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of illustrative user television equipment inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of additional illustrative user television equipmentin accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of an illustrative remote control in accordance withthe present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of illustrative user computer equipment inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a generalized diagram of illustrative user equipment inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in suggestingtelevision programs to a user in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in identifying apotential television program of interest in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 9 shows an illustrative television screen containing an interestsurvey window associated with a movie in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 10 shows an illustrative television screen containing an interestsurvey window associated with a sporting event in accordance with thepresent invention.

FIG. 11 shows an illustrative television screen containing an interestsurvey window associated with an episode of a serial in accordance withthe present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in identifying asuitable time for presenting to the user questions formulated inassociation with a potential television program of interest inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 13 shows an illustrative favorites screen in accordance with thepresent invention.

FIG. 14 shows an illustrative previously watched list screen inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in alerting theuser as to listings of favorite television programs, suggestedtelevision programs, or both, within a time frame that the user iscurrently browsing in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 16 shows an illustrative interactive television program guidescreen containing a suggestion overlay in accordance with the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An illustrative interactive television system 10 in accordance with thepresent invention is shown in FIG. 1 . Content such as televisionprogramming and digital music may be provided from programming sources12 to television distribution facilities such as television distributionfacility 14 using communications path 16. Programming sources 12 may beany suitable sources of television and music programming, such astelevision and music production studios, or any other suitable source ofprogramming.

Television distribution facility 14 may be a cable system headend, asatellite television distribution facility, a television broadcastfacility, or any other suitable facility for distributing television andmusic programming to users. There are typically numerous televisiondistribution facilities 14 in system 10, but only one is shown in FIG. 1to avoid overcomplicating the drawings.

Communications path 16 may be a satellite path, a fiber-optic path, acable path, or any other suitable wired or wireless communications pathsor a combination of such paths.

Television distribution facility 14 may be connected to various userequipment devices 18. Such user equipment 18 may, for example, belocated in the homes of users. User equipment 18 may include usertelevision equipment 20 or user computer equipment 22.

User equipment 18 may receive television and music programming and otherinformation from television distribution facility 14 over communicationspaths such as communications paths 26, 27, and 28. User equipment 18 mayalso transmit signals to television distribution facility 14 over paths26, 27, and 28. Paths 26, 27, and 28 may be cables or other wiredconnections, free-space connections (e.g., for broadcast or otherwireless signals), satellite links, or any other suitable communicationslink.

Any suitable communications scheme may be used to transmit data overpaths 26, 27, and 28, including in-band transmissions, out-of-bandtransmissions, digital transmissions, analog transmissions, cabletransmissions, satellite transmissions, cable modem transmissions,over-the-air transmissions, multichannel multipoint distributionservices (MMDS) transmissions, or any other suitable communicationscheme.

If desired, interactive television program guide application data may bedistributed over an out-of-band channel on paths 26, 27, and 28 or overan in-band path such as the vertical blanking interval (VBI).Advertising information may be distributed using any of a number ofsuitable techniques. For example, text and graphics advertisements maybe distributed over an out-of-band channel using an out-of-bandmodulator. Video advertisements may also be distributed in this way,although large quantities of video information may be more efficientlydistributed using one or more digital channels or data streams on paths26, 27, and 28. Such digital channels or data streams may also be usedfor distributing text and graphics.

Data source 30 may include a program listings database that is used toprovide the user with television program schedule information such asscheduled broadcast times, titles, channels, ratings information (e.g.,parental ratings and critic's ratings), detailed title descriptions,genre or category information (e.g., sports, news, movies, etc.),information on actors and actresses, running times, or any othersuitable information. Data source 30 may also be used to provideadvertisements (e.g., program guide advertisements and advertisementsfor other interactive television applications), real-time data such assports scores, stock quotes, news, weather, or any other suitable data.Although data source 30 is drawn as an individual box in FIG. 1 , datasource 30 and the other system components of FIG. 1 may be providedusing equipment at one or more locations. Systems components are drawnas single boxes in FIG. 1 to avoid overcomplicating the drawings.

Data source 30 may provide program schedule information and other datato television distribution facility 14 over communications path 32 fordistribution to the associated user equipment over paths 26, 27, and 28.Communications path 32 may be any suitable communications path such as asatellite communications path or other wireless path, a fiber-optic orother wired communications path, a path that supports Internetcommunications, any other suitable communications path, or a combinationof such paths. Data source 30 may provide program schedule informationand other data to the user at user equipment 18 over path 38,communications network 34, and path 42. Path 42 may be a wired path suchas a telephone line, a cable path, a fiber-optic path, a satellite path,a wireless path, a combination of such paths, or any other suitablepath.

User equipment devices such as user television equipment and personalcomputers may use the program schedule information to display programlistings and information on digital music for the user. An interactivetelevision program guide application or other suitable application maybe used to display such information on the user's display.

The present invention is primarily discussed herein in the context ofthe interactive television program guide application. The interactivetelevision program guide application may include any suitable software,hardware, or both used to implement the features of the presentinvention.

An on-line program guide and other interactive television services maybe provided using a server connected to communications network 34 suchas server 36. Server 36 may receive program schedule information andother data from data source 30 via communications path 38,communications network 34, and communications path 40. Paths 38 and 40may be satellite paths, fiber-optic paths, wired paths, or any othersuitable communications path. Communications network 34 may be anysuitable communications network, such as the Internet, the publicswitched telephone network, a packet-based network, or any othersuitable communications network.

User equipment 18 may access on-line program guide information and otherinformation from server 36 via communications path 42. User equipment 18may also access the on-line program guide and other services on server36 via communications path 26, television distribution facility 14, andcommunications path 44. For example, a cable modem or other suitableequipment may be used by user equipment 18 to communicate withtelevision distribution facility 14. Television distribution facility 14may communicate with communications network 34 over any suitable path44, such as a wired path, a cable path, fiber-optic path, satellitepath, any other suitable communications path, or a combination of suchpaths.

User equipment 18, which may include user television equipment 20 anduser computer equipment 22, may access the on-line program guide andserver 36 using similar arrangements. User television equipment 20 mayaccess the on-line program guide and server 36 using communications path46 or using path 27, television distribution facility 14, and path 44.User computer equipment 22 may access the on-line program guide andserver 36 using communications path 48 or using path 28, televisiondistribution facility 14, and path 44. Paths 46 and 48 may be anysuitable paths, such as wired paths, cable paths, fiber-optic paths,wireless paths, satellite paths, any other suitable communications path,or a combination of such paths.

Program guide application functions and the functions of otherinteractive television applications may be supported using server 36 andother servers connected to communications network 34 such as server 56.Interactive television applications may also be supported by servers orother suitable equipment at one or more service providers such asservice provider 50. For example, a home shopping service may besupported by a service provider such as service provider 50 that hassales representatives, order fulfillment facilities, account maintenancefacilities, and other equipment for supporting interactive home shoppingfeatures. A home shopping application that is implemented using userequipment 18 may be used to access the service provider to provide thesefeatures to the user. User equipment 18 may access service provider 50via television distribution facility 14 and communications path 52 orvia communications network 34 and communications path 54. Communicationspaths such as paths 52 and 54 may be any suitable paths, such as wiredpaths, cable paths, fiber-optic paths, satellite paths, any othersuitable communications path, or a combination of such paths.

Another example of an interactive television application is a homebanking application. A home banking service may be supported usingpersonnel at facilities such as service provider 50. An interactive homebanking application that is implemented using user equipment 18 mayaccess the home banking service via television distribution facility 14and communications path 52 or via communications network 34 andcommunications path 54.

If desired, an interactive television application such as anetwork-based video recorder or a video-on-demand application may besupported using server 56, server 36, or equipment at service provider50. Video-on-demand content and video recorded using a network-basedvideo recorder arrangement may be stored on server 56 or server 36 or atservice provider 50 and may be provided to user equipment 18 whenrequested by users. An interactive television application may be used tosupport the functions of a personal video recorder (sometimes called adigital video recorder) that is implemented using user equipment 18.Illustrative equipment that may be used to support personal videorecorder functions include specialized personal video recorder devices,integrated receiver decoders (IRDs), set-top boxes with integrated orexternal hard drives, or personal computers with video recordingcapabilities.

If desired, applications such as the interactive television programguide application, a home shopping application, a home bankingapplication, a video-on-demand application, game applications, and otherapplications (e.g., applications related to e-mail and chat or othercommunications functions) may be provided as separate applications thatare accessed through a navigation shell application (i.e., a menuapplication with menu options corresponding to the applications). Thefeatures of such applications may be combined. For example, games,video-on-demand services, home shopping, network-based video recorderfunctions, personal video recorder functions, navigational functions,program guide functions, communications functions, and other suitablefunctions may be provided using one application or any other suitablenumber of applications.

Moreover, the interactive television program guide application, the homebanking application, the home shopping application, the network-basedvideo recorder and personal video recorder applications, thevideo-on-demand application, the gaming applications, communicationsapplications, and navigational applications, are only a few illustrativeexamples of the types of interactive television applications that may besupported by system 10. Other suitable applications that may besupported include, news services, web browsing and other Internetservices, and interactive wagering services (e.g., for wagering on horseraces and the like).

The interactive television application or applications that are used ininteractive television system 10 may be implemented locally on userequipment 18. The applications may also be implemented in a distributedfashion (e.g., using a client-server architecture in which userequipment 18 serves at least partly and for at least some of the time,as the client and a server such as server 56 at television distributionfacility 14, server 36, or other suitable equipment acts as the server).Other distributed architectures may also be used if desired. Some or allof the interactive television system features of system 10 may beprovided using operating system software or middleware software. Suchoperating system software and middleware may be used instead of or incombination with application-level software. Regardless of theparticular arrangement used to implement interactive television featuresrelated to program guides, home shopping, home banking, video-on-demand,Internet, communications, or any other suitable application program, thesoftware that supports these features may be referred to as anapplication or applications.

Illustrative user television equipment 20 that is based on a set-top boxarrangement is shown in FIG. 2 . Input/output 58 may be connected tocommunications paths such as paths 27 and 46. Input/output functions maybe provided by one or more wires or communications paths, but are shownas a single path in FIG. 2 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing.Television programming and other information may be received usinginput/output 58. Commands and requests and other information from theuser may also be transmitted over input/output 58.

Set-top box 60 may be any suitable analog or digital set-top box (e.g.,a cable set-top box). Set-top box 60 may contain an analog tuner fortuning to a desired analog television channel. Set-top box 60 may alsocontain digital decoding circuitry for receiving digital television andmusic channels. Both analog and digital channels may be handled togetherif desired. Multiple tuners may be provided (e.g., to handlesimultaneous watch and record functions). Box 60 may be an integratedreceiver decoder (IRD) that handles satellite television. If desired,box 60 may have circuitry for handling cable, over-the-air broadcast,and satellite content. Box 60 may include a storage device (e.g., adigital storage device such as a hard disk drive) for providingrecording capabilities. Box 60 may also be connected to a recordingdevice 62 such as a video cassette recorder, personal video recorder, orother device or devices with storage capabilities.

Set-top box 60 contains a processor (e.g., a microcontroller ormicroprocessor or the like) that is used to execute softwareapplications. Set-top box 60 may contain memory such as random-accessmemory for use when executing applications. Nonvolatile memory may alsobe used (e.g., to launch a boot-up routine and other instructions). Harddisk storage in box 60 or in recording device 62 may be used to back updata and to otherwise support larger databases and storage requirementsthan may be supported using random-access memory approaches.

Set-top box 60 may have infrared (IR) or other communications circuitryfor communicating with a remote control or wireless keyboard. Set-topbox 60 may also have dedicated buttons and a front-panel display. Thefront-panel display may, for example, be used to display the currentchannel to which the set-top box is tuned.

Set-top box 60 may also have communications circuitry such as a cablemodem, an integrated services digital network (ISDN) modem, a digitalsubscriber line (DSL) modem, a telephone modem, wireless modem, or anyother suitable communications circuitry, for communications with otherequipment. Such communications may involve the Internet or any othersuitable communications networks or paths. If desired, the components ofset-top box 60 may be integrated into other user equipment (e.g., atelevision or videocassette recorder).

Recording device 62 may be used to record videos provided by set-top box60. For example, if set-top box 60 is tuned to a given televisionchannel, the video signal for that television channel may be passed torecording device 62 for recording on a videocassette, compact disc,digital video disk, or internal hard drive or other storage device.Recording device 62 may have communications circuitry such as a cablemodem, an ISDN modem, a DSL modem, a telephone modem, or any othersuitable communications circuitry, for communications with otherequipment. Such communications may involve the Internet or any othersuitable communications networks or paths. The components of recordingdevice 62 may be integrated into other user equipment (e.g., atelevision, stereo equipment, or any other suitable user equipment).

Recording device 62 may be controlled using a remote control or othersuitable user interface. If desired, video recorder functions such asstart, stop, record, etc. and other functions for device 62 may becontrolled by set-top box 60. For example, set-top box 60 may controlrecording device 62 using infrared commands directed toward the remotecontrol inputs of recording device 62 or set-top box 60 may controlrecording device 62 using other wired or wireless communications pathsbetween box 60 and device 62.

The output of recording device 62 may be provided to television 64 fordisplay to the user. If desired, multiple recording devices 62 or norecording device 62 may be used. If recording device 62 is not presentor is not being actively used, the video signals from set-top box 60 maybe provided directly to television 64. Any suitable television ormonitor may be used to display the video. In the equipment of FIG. 2 andthe other equipment of system 10, the audio associated with variousvideo items is typically distributed with those video items and isgenerally played back to the user as the videos are played.

Another illustrative arrangement for user television equipment 20 isshown in FIG. 3 . In the example of FIG. 3 , user television equipment20 includes a recording device 66 such as a digital video recorder(e.g., a personal video recorder (PVR)) that uses a hard disk or otherstorage for recording video or may be a digital video disc recorder,compact disc recorder, videocassette recorder, or other suitablerecording device. Equipment 20 of FIG. 3 may also include a television68. Input/output 70 may be connected to communications paths such aspaths 27 and 46. Television programming and other information may bereceived using input/output 70. Commands and requests and otherinformation from the user may be transmitted over input/output 70.

Recording device 66 may contain at least one analog tuner for tuning toa desired analog television channel (e.g., multiple tuners may beprovided). Recording device 66 may also contain digital decodingcircuitry for receiving digital television and music channels. Ifdesired, recording device 66 may contain circuitry for handling bothanalog and digital channels. Recording device 66 also contains aprocessor (e.g., a microcontroller or microprocessor or the like) thatis used to execute software applications. Recording device 66 maycontain memory such as random-access memory for use when executingapplications. Nonvolatile memory may also be used to store a boot-uproutine or other instructions. The hard disk and other storage inrecording device 66 may be used to support databases (e.g., programguide databases or interactive television application databases). Thehard disk or other, storage in recording device 66 may also be used torecord video such as television programs or video-on-demand content orother content provided to recording device 66 over input/output 70.

Recording device 66 may have IR communications circuitry or othersuitable communications circuitry for communicating with a remotecontrol. Recording device 66 may also have dedicated buttons and afront-panel display. The front-panel display may, for example, be usedto display the current channel to which the recording device is tuned.

Recording device 66 may also have communications circuitry such as acable modem, an ISDN modem, a DSL modem, a telephone modem, a wirelessmodem, or any other suitable communications circuitry, forcommunications with other equipment. Such communications may involve theInternet or other suitable communications networks or paths.

If desired, recording device 66 may include a satellite receiver orother equipment that has wireless communications circuitry for receivingsatellite signals.

Recording device 66 of FIG. 3 or recording device 62 of FIG. 2 mayrecord new video while previously recorded video is being played back ontelevision 68 or 64. This allows users to press a pause button duringnormal television viewing. When the pause button is pressed, the currenttelevision program is stored on the hard disk of digital video recorder66. When the user presses play, the recorded video may be played back.This arrangement allows the user to seamlessly pause and resumetelevision viewing. Recording device 66 and 62 may also be used to allowa user to watch a previously-recorded program while simultaneouslyrecording a new program.

The set-top box arrangement of FIG. 2 and the digital video recorderset-top box arrangement of FIG. 3 are merely illustrative. Otherarrangements may be used if desired. For example, user televisionequipment may be based on a WebTV box, a personal computer television(PC/TV), or any other suitable television equipment arrangement. Ifdesired, the functions of components such as set-top box 60, digitalvideo recorder 66, a WebTV box, or PC/TV or the like may be integratedinto a television or personal computer or other suitable device.

An illustrative remote control 72 for operating user televisionequipment 20 (or suitable user computer equipment 22) is shown in FIG. 4. Remote control 72 may have function keys 74 and other keys 76 such askeypad keys, power on/off keys, pause, stop, fast-forward and reversekeys, and any other suitable keys. Volume up and down keys 78 may beused for adjusting the volume of the audio portion of a video. Channelup and down keys 80 may be used to change television channels and toaccess content on virtual channels. Cursor keys 82 may be used tonavigate on-screen menus. For example, cursor keys 82 may be used toposition an on-screen cursor, indicator, or highlight (sometimes allgenerically referred to herein as a highlight or highlight region) toindicate interest in a particular option or other item on a screendisplayed by the interactive television application.

An OK key 84 (sometimes called a select or enter key) may be used toselect on-screen options that the user has highlighted.

Keys 74 may include a record key 86 for initiating recordings. Menubutton 88 may be used to direct the interactive television applicationto display a menu on the user's display screen (e.g., on television 64or 68 or on a suitable monitor or computer display). Info button 90 maybe used to direct the interactive television application to display aninformation display screen. If the user has highlighted a particularprogram listing, for example, pressing the info button 90 may direct theinteractive television application to provide additional programschedule information related to that program listing (e.g., a programsummary, actor information, and any other suitable program scheduleinformation).

Lock button 92 may be used to modify access privileges. For example, aparent may use lock button 92 or on-screen options to establish parentalcontrol settings for the interactive television application. Theparental control settings may be time-based settings (e.g., to prevent achild from watching television during a particular time block such asfrom 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM). The parental control settings may also be usedto block programming based on rating, channel, program title, or anyother suitable criteria. A locked or blocked program is typically notviewable until the interactive television application is provided with asuitable personal identification number (PIN). Once this PIN has beenentered, the interactive television program will unlock the user'sequipment and allow the locked content to be accessed.

Exit button 94 may be used to exit the interactive televisionapplication or to exit a portion of the interactive televisionapplication. Guide button 96 may be used to invoke the interactivetelevision program guide.

The keys shown in FIG. 4 are merely illustrative. Other keys or buttonsmay be provided if desired. For example, a music button may be used toaccess music with the interactive television application. An edit buttonmay be used to edit stored content (e.g., to remove commercials, removeportions of a video, or edit any other suitable content). Alphanumericbuttons may be used to enter alphanumeric characters. A last or backbutton may be used to browse backward in the interactive televisionapplication (e.g., to return to a previous channel or display screen).Video recorder function buttons such as a play button, pause button,stop button, rewind button, fast-forward button, and record button, maybe used to control video recorder functions (local or network-based) insystem 10. A help key may be used to invoke help functions such ascontext-sensitive on-screen help.

Illustrative user computer equipment 22 is shown in FIG. 5 . In thearrangement of FIG. 5 , personal computer 98 may be controlled by theuser using keyboard 100 or other suitable user input device, such as atrackball, mouse, touch pad, touch screen, voice recognition system, aremote control such as remote control 72 of FIG. 4 , or any othersuitable user input device. Video content such as television programmingand interactive television application display screens may be displayedon monitor 102. Television programming, video-on-demand content, videorecordings played back from a network-based video recorder, and otherinformation may be received from paths 28 and 48 (FIG. 1 ) usinginput/output 104. The user may also send commands and other informationused during interactions with the interactive television application andsystem 10 over input/output line 104.

Personal computer unit 98 may contain a television or video card such astelevision tuner card for decoding analog and digital televisionchannels and for handling streaming video content. Multiple video cards(e.g., tuner cards) may be provided if desired. An illustrativetelevision tuner card that may be used may contain an analog televisiontuner for tuning to a given analog channel and digital decodingcircuitry for filtering out a desired digital television or musicchannel from a packetized digital data stream. Any suitable card orcomponents in computer unit 98 may be used to handle video and othercontent delivered via input/output line 104 if desired.

Personal computer unit 98 may contain one or more processors (e.g.,microprocessors) that are used to run the interactive televisionapplication or a portion of the interactive television application.

Storage in personal computer unit 98 such as a hard drive, DVD drive, CDdrive, or other suitable storage device or devices may be used to storevideo and other content. For example, the interactive televisionapplication and personal computer unit 98 may use this storage toprovide the functions of a personal video recorder.

User equipment 18 such as user television equipment 20 and user computerequipment 22 may be used with network equipment such as server 56,server 36, and equipment at service providers such as service provider50 of FIG. 1 to provide network-based video recording functions. Videorecording functions may be provided by storing copies of televisionprograms and other video content on a remote server (e.g., server 56 orserver 36 of FIG. 1 ) or other network-based equipment such as equipmentat a service provider such as service provider 50.

Video recordings may be made in response to user commands that areentered at user equipment 18. In a personal video recorder arrangement,the interactive television application may be used to record videolocally on user equipment 18 in response to the user commands. In anetwork-based video recorder arrangement, the interactive televisionapplication may be used to record video or to make virtual recordings onnetwork equipment such as server 36, 56, or equipment at serviceprovider 50 in response to the user commands. The user commands may beprovided to the network equipment over the communications paths shown inFIG. 1 . The personal video recorder arrangement and the network-basedvideo recorder arrangement can support functions such as fast-forward,rewind, pause, play, and record.

To avoid unnecessary duplication in a network-based video recorderenvironment, the system 10 may provide network-based video recordingcapabilities by using virtual copies or recordings. With this approach,each user may be provided with a personal area on the network thatcontains a list of that user's recordings. The video content need onlybe stored once (or a relatively small number of times) on the networkequipment, even though a large number of users may have that videocontent listed as one of their recordings in their network-based videorecorder personal area.

The user television equipment and user computer equipment arrangementsdescribed above are merely illustrative. A more generalized embodimentof illustrative user equipment is shown in FIG. 6 .

As shown in FIG. 6 , control circuitry 106 is connected to input/output108. Input/output 108 may be connected to one or more communicationspaths such as paths 26, 27, 28, 42, 46, and 48 of FIG. 1 . Televisionand music programming may be received via input/output 108 (e.g., fromprogramming sources 12, servers or other equipment such as server 36,service providers such as service provider 50, and televisiondistribution facility 14). Program schedule information for aninteractive television program guide may be received from data source 30via input/output 108. Input/output 108 may also be used to receiveinformation from data source 30 for other interactive televisionapplications. The user may use control circuitry 106 to send commands,requests, and other suitable information using input/output 108.

Control circuitry 106 may be based on any suitable processing circuitry110 such as processing circuitry based on one or more microprocessors,microcontrollers, digital signal processors, programmable logic devices,or any other suitable processing circuitry. Memory (e.g., random-accessmemory and read-only memory), hard drives, DVD drives, CD drives, or anyother suitable memory or storage devices may be provided as storage 112that is part of control circuitry 106. Tuning circuitry such as one ormore analog tuners, one or more MPEG-2 decoders or other digital videocircuitry, or any other suitable tuning or video circuits orcombinations of such circuits may also be included as part of circuitry106. Encoding circuitry (e.g., for converting over-the-air or cableanalog signals to MPEG signals for storage) may also be provided. Thetuning and encoding circuitry may be used by user equipment 18 toreceive and display or play or record a particular television or musicchannel or other desired audio and video content (e.g., video-on-demandcontent or requested network-based or local video recorder playback).Television programming and other video and on-screen options andinformation may be displayed on display 114. Display 114 may be amonitor, a television, or any other suitable equipment for displayingvisual images. Speakers 116 may be provided as part of a television ormay be stand-alone units. Digital music and the audio component ofvideos displayed on display 114 may be played through speakers 116.

A user may control the control circuitry 106 using user input interface118. User input interface 118 may be any suitable user interface, suchas a mouse, trackball, keypad, keyboard, touch screen, touch pad, voicerecognition interface, remote control, or any other suitable user inputinterface.

An interactive television program guide having various interactivetelevision program guide interface screens may be provided to assist auser in selecting television programs. Examples of the variousinteractive television program guide interface screens are described,for example, in Ellis U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/306,175, filedNov. 25, 2002, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

As the number of available television programs grows, it becomesincreasingly more confusing and burdensome for a user to selecttelevision programs that are of interest to the user. One approach tomitigate this problem is for an interactive television program guideapplication to suggest television programs to a user that may be ofinterest. For example, the interactive television program guideapplication may suggest television programs to the user based on theuser's previous television viewing habits. The interactive televisionprogram guide application may derive the user's viewing habits by, forexample, identifying and categorizing those television programs towardswhich the user has shown interest.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the interactive televisionprogram guide application may query the user as to the user's interestsin television programs by using questions formulated based on thosetelevision programs towards which the user has shown interest. It willbe understood that the term “questions” is not limited to textualqueries but may include any suitable types of questions, prompts,options, or any other suitable tool for soliciting user responses. As anexample, the interactive television program guide application may querythe user regarding the user's preferences towards various actors in atelevision program using checkboxes. As another example, the interactivetelevision program guide application may prompt the user to add atelevision program to a favorites list using a user-selectable button.As another example, the interactive television program guide applicationmay provide an opportunity for the user to record a television programusing, for example, a personal video recorder (PVR). As yet anotherexample, the interactive television program guide application may promptthe user to schedule a television program for recording to a PVR by, forexample, allowing the user to add the television program to a recordingschedule. The interactive television program guide application may usevarious other suitable questions to automatically query the userregarding the user's interest. Some suitable approaches will bediscussed in more detail below.

In one suitable approach, in response to determining that the user hasshown interest towards a particular television program, the interactivetelevision program guide application may formulate questions based onvarious attributes of the television program. These questions may thenbe displayed to the user by the interactive television program guideapplication at a suitable time. The suitable time for displaying theseformulated question may be automatically determined by the interactivetelevision program guide application or may be determined by the user.In some embodiments of the present invention, the interactive televisionprogram guide application may allow the user to initiate displaying offormulated questions by, for example, pressing a suitable button on aremote control (e.g., remote control 74 of FIG. 4 ). In some embodimentsof the present invention, the interactive television program guideapplication may allow the user to specify, for example, during setup,suitable times for the interactive television program guide applicationto present formulated questions to the user.

Once the interactive television program guide application gathersresponses to these questions, it may subsequently use the responses toidentify television programs that are likely to be of interest to theuser. Ultimately, these identified television programs may berecommended or otherwise displayed to the user as suggestions by theinteractive television program guide application. The interactivetelevision program guide application may automatically determine asuitable time for suggesting these television program to the user or theinteractive television program guide application may allow the user torequest for such suggestions. As an example, the interactive televisionprogram guide application may allow the user to request for suggestionsby, for example, pressing a suitable button on a remote control (e.g.,remote control 74 of FIG. 4 ). In some embodiments of the presentinvention, the interactive television program guide application mayallow the user to specify, for example, during setup, suitable times forthe interactive television program guide application to suggesttelevision programs to the user.

FIG. 7 shows a general flowchart of illustrative steps involved inidentifying television programs to suggest to the user based on theuser's responses to tailored questions in accordance with someembodiments of the present invention.

At step 702, the interactive television program guide applicationdetermines that a television program is potentially of interest to auser. The interactive television program guide application may usevarious suitable approaches to determine potential television programsof interest. Some examples of suitable approaches will be described indetail below.

At step 704, the interactive television program guide applicationqueries the user regarding the user's interest in television programsusing one or more tailored questions. The questions are formulated basedon one or more attributes associated with the television program thathas been identified as a potential television program of interest by theinteractive television program guide application at step 702.

The types of information that may be provided by the attributesassociated with a television program may include, for example, category,type, genre, any other suitable information associated with thetelevision program, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments ofthe present invention, additional attributes associated with, forexample, a particular category, type, or genre of television program mayalso be identified. As an example, for a television program in the moviecategory, the interactive television program guide application may haveaccess to additional attributes such as the cast members, director,producer, storyline, time period, or any other suitable attributespecific to a movie. In some embodiments of the present invention, theinteractive television program guide application may also have access torelationship attributes that describe the television program'srelationship with a past program, a future program, a related serial orany other suitable television programming. For example, in connectionwith a past television program, the interactive television program guideapplication may have access to relationship attributes that reveal anysequels, episodes in a serial, or any other suitable related televisionprograms.

Once the interactive television program guide application gathers theuser's responses to the questions, the interactive television programguide application then identifies one or more television programs tosuggest to the user at step 706 that are based on the user's responses.

Detailed descriptions and examples of the various steps involved inidentifying and suggesting television programs to a user based onqueries using tailored questions will be discussed fully below.

The interactive television program guide application may use variousmethods to identify those television programs toward which the user hasshown interest. For example, the interactive television program guideapplication may take note of the various television programs that theuser has watched. This approach, however, may prove to be inaccurate inevaluating user interest due to the large number of television programsthat the user browses that are not necessarily of interest to the user.To improve upon this approach, the interactive television program guideapplication may identify a smaller set of those television programs towhich the user has shown more substantial interest.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the interactive televisionprogram guide application may determine whether the user is casuallychannel surfing past a television program or whether the televisionprogram has actually captured the user's interest in a more significantmanner. The interactive television program guide application may makesuch a determination, for example, by monitoring the amount of time thatthe user spends watching the television program.

As an example, the interactive television program guide application maymonitor the amount of time that the user spends watching a particularprogram in one continuous time period. The interactive televisionprogram guide application may then, for example, mark the televisionprogram that the user watches for a continuous period of time that isgreater than a predetermined period of time as a potential program ofinterest. The interactive television program guide application may marka television program as a potential television program of interest by,for example, inserting a flag into the data associated with thetelevision program in a database (e.g., program listing informationstored in a database), encoding such information into the datastreamassociated with the television program, storing a listing of thetelevision program in a potential interest list, or using any othersuitable approach to mark the television program so that the interactivetelevision program guide application recognizes it as a potentialtelevision program of interest.

As another example, the interactive television program guide applicationmay monitor the cumulative time that the user spends watching aparticular television program. The interactive television program guideapplication may compute the cumulative time by, for example, addingtogether the time periods that the user has spent watching theparticular television program during a time period within which the userhas also watched other television programs (as opposed to continuouslywatching the particular television program, as described above). If thecumulative time exceeds a predetermined period of time, the interactivetelevision program guide application may mark the television program asa potential program of interest.

As another example, the interactive television program guide applicationmay monitor when the user stops watching a television program (e.g.,when a commercial begins) and whether the user returns to watching thetelevision program (e.g., after browsing through other programs). If theuser returns to watching the television program, the interactivetelevision program guide application may mark the television program asa potential television program of interest. In some embodiments of thepresent invention, the interactive television program guide applicationmay treat turning off the television as an interruption that is similarto the commercial example described above. In response to a user turningthe television back on, the interactive television program guideapplication may determine the length of time that the television hadbeen turned off. If the time period that the television had been off isshort, for example, when compared to a predetermined period of time, theinteractive television program guide application may determine whetherthe user has returned to watching the television program that the userhad been watching before turning off the television. If the user hasreturned to watching the same television program, the interactivetelevision program guide may mark the television program as a potentialtelevision program of interest.

The examples described above are merely illustrative of the type ofapproaches that may be used to identify potential television programs ofinterest. Any other suitable approaches may be used.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in identifying apotential television program of interest in accordance with someembodiments of the present invention.

At step 802, the interactive television program guide applicationdetermines whether the user's viewing pattern associated with atelevision program (e.g., continuous viewing period, cumulative viewingperiod, or any other suitable viewing pattern indicator) satisfies oneor more predetermined criteria for identifying a potential program ofinterest.

If the user's viewing pattern satisfies one or more predeterminedcriteria, the interactive television program guide application thenmarks the television program as a potential television program ofinterest at step 804.

Once the interactive television program guide application determinesthat the user has shown interest towards a particular television programusing any suitable approach, the interactive television program guideapplication may use various characteristics of the television program toassist in identifying other television programs that may be of interestto the user.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the interactive televisionprogram guide application may formulate a series of questions in orderto, for example, query the user regarding characteristics of theparticular television program that may have made it interesting to theuser. These questions may, for example, allow the user to add thetelevision program or related television programs to the user'sfavorites list (e.g., when the television program is a part of a seriesof programs), allow the user to set reminders for the television programor related television programs, confirm the user's interest in variousattributes associated with the television program (e.g., interest in aparticular actor) for use in making future programming recommendationsto the user, or obtain any other suitable information for identifyingtelevision programs of potential interest to the user.

The interactive television program guide application may formulate thequestions displayed to the user by, for example, basing the questions onvarious attributes associated with the particular television program asdescribed above. The various attributes associated with the particulartelevision program may be predetermined by, for example, the distributorof the television program, content creator, or any other suitable sourceof the television program. The attributes associated with the televisionprograms may be transmitted to the user equipment, for example, alongwith other interactive television program guide information.

Based on these predetermined attributes, when the interactive televisionprogram guide application identifies a potential television program ofinterest, the interactive television program guide application mayformulate tailored questions to query the user regarding the user'sinterest in what have been identified as related television programs.

As an example, the interactive television program guide application maydetermine from an attribute associated with a potential televisionprogram of interest that the television program is an episode of aserial. Upon making such a determination, the interactive televisionprogram guide application may formulate a question that allows the userto add the serial to the user's favorite list. As another example, theinteractive television program guide application may determine fromattributes associated with a potential television program of interestthat the program is a dramatic movie starring a particular actor. Theinteractive television program guide application may then formulate aquestion to query the user regarding the user's preference for othertelevision programs starring the same actor or for other dramaticmovies.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the interactive televisionprogram guide application may omit certain types of questions based onattributes associated with a television program. For example, upondetermining that an attribute associated with television program revealsthat the television program is a dramatic movie having no relatedtelevision programs (e.g., sequels, serials, or any other suitablerelated television program), the interactive television program guideapplication may avoid the formulation of a question that prompts theuser to add the movie to the user's favorites list. Based on thisattribute, the interactive television program guide application may alsodetermine that the user is not likely to want to view the same moviemore than once, and may therefore avoid prompting the user to set areminder for future occurrences of the movie.

It will be understood that while the interactive television programguide application may not display certain questions to the user based onattributes associated with a particular television program, theinteractive television program guide application may nonetheless providethe user with the opportunity to request such options. For example, theuser may request to add a movie to favorites, for example, by pressing amenu button on the user's remote control (e.g., remote control 72 ofFIG. 4 ) to access favorites options provided by the interactivetelevision program guide or using any other suitable request method.

FIGS. 9 to 11 demonstrate various questions that may be displayed to auser by the interactive television program guide application based onattributes that are associated with a potential television program ofinterest. While the examples of FIGS. 9 to 11 are shown as televisionscreens in accordance with the present invention, it will be understoodthat various other types of screens, such as computer screens, screensof personal digital devices, or any other suitable display arrangement,may be used.

FIG. 9 shows an illustrative television screen 900 containing aninterest survey window 902 associated with a movie in accordance withsome embodiments of the present invention. Television screen 900containing interest survey window 902 may be displayed to the user, forexample, in response to the interactive television program guideapplication determining that the user has demonstrated interest in themovie “Braveheart” (e.g., by watching “Braveheart” for a continuousperiod of time that is greater than a predetermined period of time). Theinteractive television program guide application may continue to displayvideo of the movie in video window 904, occupying the top portion oftelevision screen 900. The interactive television program guideapplication may display one or more questions formulated based onattributes associated with the movie in interest survey window 902,which occupies the bottom portion of television screen 900. Theinteractive television program guide application may display interestsurvey window 902 as an overlay on top of video window 904 or in anyother suitable arrangement.

Interest survey window 902 may include, for example, an advertisement906, a list 908 of one or more questions formulated based on variousattributes associated with the television program displayed in videowindow 904, directional key 910 for accessing additional questions,buttons 912, 914, and 916 for submitting, deferring, and skippingselections respectively, and any other suitable features. If the userselects button 912, the interactive television program guide applicationmay gather the user's responses to the questions for use in identifyingtelevision programs to suggest to the user. If the user selects button914, the interactive television program guide application may displayinterest survey window 902 or any other suitable interface having thesame questions at a later time. If the user selects button 916, theinteractive television program guide application may remove interestsurvey window 902 from television screen 900 and refrain from queryingthe user with the same questions again. In some embodiments of thepresent invention, if the user closes interest survey window 902 withoutanswering any questions, the interactive television program guideapplication may display interest survey window 902 or any other suitableinterface having the same questions to the user at a later time.

In this particular example, the interactive television program guideapplication has omitted any questions regarding saving the moviedisplayed in video window 904 to the user's favorites list. This isbecause one or more attributes associated with “Braveheart” indicate tothe interactive television program guide application that “Braveheart”is a movie having no closely related television programs.

In the example of FIG. 9 , the interactive television program guideapplication has determined from one of the attributes associated withthe movie that Mel Gibson is the starring actor in this movie.Accordingly, the interactive television program guide applicationprovides question 918 in list 908 to allow the user to indicate aninterest in other television programs starring Mel Gibson. The user mayconfirm such an interest, for example, by setting toggle button 920 to“yes.” This may be accomplished by placing highlight region 922 ontoggle button 920 and then using directional arrows on a remote control(e.g., remote control 72 of FIG. 4 ) to toggle to choice “yes.” Theinteractive television program guide application also queries the userwith questions 924 and 926 through which the user may confirm intereststowards other attributes associated with the movie “Braveheart” (e.g.,period epic, Scotland, or any other suitable attribute). The user mayrespond to these questions using toggle buttons 928 and 930,respectively.

Television screen 900 containing an interest survey window 902 is merelyillustrative of such a display screen. Various other suitablearrangements may be used.

FIG. 10 shows another example of an illustrative television screen 1000containing an interest survey window 1002 associated with a sportingevent in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. Theinteractive television program guide application may display interestsurvey window 1002, for example, in response to identifying “MondayNight Football” as a television program that is of interest to the user(e.g., by determining that the user has watched “Monday Night Football”for a continuous period of time that is greater than a predeterminedperiod of time).

In the example of FIG. 10 , the interactive television program guideapplication has determined from an attribute associated with “MondayNight Football” that it is a recurring television program. Accordingly,the interactive television program guide application has formulated andprovided the user with question 1004 in the list of questions 1006 shownwithin interest survey window 1002 to enable the user to add “MondayNight Football” to the user's favorites list. In connection with thisquestion, the user may select whether to add the program to thefavorites list at the present time, at a later time, or never, usingtoggle button 1008. If the user chooses “yes,” the interactivetelevision program guide application may add the program to the user'sfavorite list. If the user chooses “not right now,” the interactivetelevision program guide application may query the user again at anothertime. If the user chooses “never,” indicating the user's lack ofinterest in this television program, the interactive television programguide application may refrain from querying the user in the future. Insome embodiments of the present invention, in response to a userresponse of “never,” the interactive television program guideapplication may refrain from querying about or assign a lower priorityto similar television programs in the future.

In the example of FIG. 10 , the interactive television program guideapplication has also determined from other attributes associated with“Monday Night Football” that the game displayed for the user in videowindow 1010 is between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots.Based on this information, the interactive television program guideapplication may formulate questions 1012 and 1014 to allow the user toindicate an interest in these two teams using toggle buttons 1016 and1018, respectively. Also in this example, the interactive televisionprogram guide application has determined based on a category attributethat “Monday Night Football” is a football event. Thus, the interactivetelevision program guide application additionally displays question 1020in interest survey window 1002 to query the user as to the user'sinterest in other football events. The user may respond to question 1020using toggle button 1022.

Television screen 1000 containing interest survey window 1002 is merelyillustrative of such a display screen. Various other suitablearrangements may be used.

FIG. 11 shows another example of an illustrative television screen 1100containing interest survey window 1102 associated with an episode of aserial in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. Theinteractive television program guide application may display interestsurvey window 1102, for example, in response to determining that theuser has shown interest towards an episode of a serial. In this example,the interactive television program guide application has determined fromattributes associated with the episode of “Mad About You” that theepisode is related to one or more other episodes in a serial. Inresponse to making such a determination, the interactive televisionprogram guide application prompts the user with questions 1104 and 1106to allow the user to add the serial to the user's favorites list and toset reminders for future episodes of the serial, respectively.

In this example, the interactive television program guide applicationhas also identified, through examination of the associated attributes,that the serial casts actress Helen Hunt. Accordingly, the interactivetelevision program guide application provides the user with question1108 regarding the user's interest in other television programs starringHelen Hunt. The user may confirm such an interest, for example, bysetting toggle button 1110 to “yes.”

Television screen 1100 containing interest survey window 1102 is merelyillustrative of such a display screen. Various other suitablearrangements may be used.

As described above, as the user watches television, the interactivetelevision program guide application may automatically determine if thecurrent television program is a potential television program ofinterest. Once the interactive television program guide applicationidentifies the television program as a potential television program ofinterest, the interactive television program guide application mayformulate questions associated with the television program as the userwatches the program. In some embodiments of the present invention, theinteractive television program guide application may also formulatequestions associated with the television program after the user hasfinished watching the television program. Suitable time for formulatingquestions associated with a television program may be automaticallydetermined by the interactive television program guide, predetermined bythe content distributor, determined by the user (e.g., during setup), ordetermined using any other suitable approach. The interactive televisionprogram guide application may then display the formulated questions tothe user at a suitable time. For example, the interactive televisionprogram guide application may display the questions to the user duringthe presentation of the television program, immediately after thepresentation of the television program, during a commercial break, inresponse to the user switching channels, in response to the user turningon the television, or at any other suitable time. Some suitableapproaches for displaying the formulated questions to the user aredescribed in detail below.

In one suitable approach, the interactive television program guideapplication may display questions formulated in association with aparticular television program when the user initiates interaction withthe program guide during the presentation of the particular televisionprogram. The user may initiate interaction with the program guide by,for example, requesting display of the guide, changing channels, orusing any other suitable approach. In another suitable approach, theinteractive television program guide application may display thequestions to the user in response to the user initiating interactionwith the program guide within a predetermined time period after the endof the particular television program. In yet another suitable approach,the interactive television program guide application may automaticallydisplay the questions to the user at the end of the particulartelevision program or at any other suitable time determined by theinteractive television program guide application.

FIG. 12 shows a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in displayingto the user at a suitable time questions formulated in association witha potential television program of interest in accordance with someembodiments of the present invention.

At step 1202, the interactive television program guide applicationidentifies a suitable time for displaying to the user questions thathave been formulated in association with a potential television programof interest using any suitable approach.

The interactive television program guide application then displays thequestions formulated in association with the potential televisionprogram of interest to the user at step 1204.

Once the interactive television program guide application has gatheredthe user's responses to the various questions, the interactivetelevision program guide application may assist the user in selectingtelevision programs of interest in various ways. In some embodiments ofthe present invention, the interactive television program guideapplication, in response to the user invoking a favorites view of theguide (e.g., a program guide view containing user favorites information,including the user's favorites list), may prominently display thosefavorite programs that are about to start. The interactive televisionprogram guide application may also provide to the user, in the favoritesview, those suggested television programs that have been identified bythe interactive television program guide application. For example, theinteractive television program guide application may have identifiedthese suggested television programs by using the user's responses toquestions previously displayed to the user.

FIG. 13 shows one example of an illustrative favorites screen 1300 inaccordance with some embodiments of the present invention. Favoritesscreen 1300 may prominently display in the top portion of the screen alist 1302 of favorite programs that are about to start. The user mayadjust the time frame for displaying the favorite programs usingdirectional arrows 1304 and 1306. Alternatively, the user may usesuitable directional buttons on the user's remote control (e.g., remotecontrol 72 of FIG. 4 ) or any other suitable means for adjusting thetime frame.

Favorites screen 1300 may also include a suggested television programlist 1308. The interactive television program guide application may haveidentified these suggested television programs using at least partially,for example, the user's responses to questions previously displayed tothe user. Suggested television program list 1308 may be sorted toprominently display those suggested television programs that are aboutto start (e.g., at the top of the list).

The user may access additional favorite programs and additionalsuggested programs by scrolling down favorites list 1302 and suggestedtelevision program list 1308 using arrows 1310 and 1312. Alternatively,the user may access complete lists of favorite programs and recommendedprograms by selecting “favorites list” button 1314 and “recommended”button 1316, respectively.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the interactive televisionprogram guide application may include in favorites screen 1300 optionsto provide the user with preview information on interesting upcomingtelevision programs. In this particular example, favorites screen 1300includes “coming up today” button 1318 and “coming up this week” button1320 to provide the user with such information. In response to a userselection of “coming up today” button 1318, for example, the interactivetelevision program guide application may refresh favorites screen 1300to display to the user a list of television programs coming up on thepresent day that are in the user's favorites list, having beenidentified as suggested television programs, or both. Similarly, inresponse to a user selection of “coming up this week” button 1320, forexample, the interactive television program guide application mayrefresh favorites screen 1300 to display to the user a list oftelevision programs coming up in the current week.

In this particular example, a “previously watched” button 1322 isprovided on favorites screen 1300. In response to the user selecting“previously watched” button 1322, the interactive television programguide application may display to the user a previously watched screen1400, as shown in FIG. 14 , in accordance with some embodiments of thepresent invention. Previously watched screen 1400 may be similar inlayout to favorites screen 1300 of FIG. 13 . However, in place of theuser's favorites list, the interactive television program guideapplication may display a previously watched list 1402 of thosetelevision programs that the user has shown interest towards, but hasnot yet added to the user's favorite list (e.g., the user has previouslyselected “not right now” when asked whether the user would like to addthe program to favorites).

The interactive television program guide application may prominentlydisplay on previously watched screen 1400 those television programs thatare about to start. In this particular example, the interactivetelevision program guide application provides options 1404, 1406, and1408 for the user to select whether to add any of these previouslywatched programs to the user's favorites list. If the user again chooses“not right now,” the interactive television program guide applicationmay keep the television program on previously watched list 1402 to bedisplayed to the user at a later time. However, if the user chooses“never,” or if the user ignores the television program on previouslywatched list 1402 for a predetermined period of time, the interactivetelevision program guide application may remove the television programfrom previously watched list 1402.

Previously watched screen 1402 is merely illustrative of such a displayscreen. Various other suitable arrangements may be used.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the interactive televisionprogram guide application may bring to the user's attention favorite andsuggested television programs that are scheduled to air in or near atime frame. The time frame may be a time frame within which the user iscurrently browsing, for example, in the interactive television programguide listings.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in alerting theuser to listings of favorite television programs, suggested televisionprograms, or both, that are within or near the time frame that the useris currently browsing in the program guide in accordance with someembodiments of the present invention.

At step 1502, the interactive television program guide applicationidentifies one or more listings of favorites television programs,suggested television programs, or both, that are within or near auser-selected time frame. For example, the user-selected time frame maybe the time frame that the user is currently browsing (e.g., in aprogram guide). The interactive television program guide applicationthen alerts the user to the one or more favorite television programs,suggested television programs, or both using, for example, a suggestionoverlay such as suggestion overlay 1600 of FIG. 16 (step 1504).

FIG. 16 shows a suggestion overlay 1600 that may be displayed by theinteractive television program guide application to alert the user offavorite programs and suggested programs that are within or near auser-selected time frame in accordance with some embodiments of thepresent invention. In this particular example, program listings window1602 shows that the user is currently browsing program listings in the12:00-12:30 pm time frame on Thursday. In response to determining thatfavorite programs as well as suggested programs are available within ornear this time frame, the interactive television program guideapplication displays suggestion overlay 1600 containing a list of thesetelevision programs. The interactive television program guideapplication may allow the user to close suggestion overlay 1600 usingclose button 1604. In some embodiments of the present invention, theinteractive television program guide application may allow a user toprevent the interactive television program guide application fromdisplaying suggestion overlay 1600, any other pop-up windows (e.g.,containing questions associated with a television program), or anycombination of overlays and windows thereof. For example, theinteractive television program guide application may provide an optionfor the user to disable displaying of these overlays and pop-up windowsduring set-up.

Suggestion overlay 1600 is merely illustrative of such a display screen.Various other suitable arrangements may be used.

The foregoing is merely illustrative of the principles of this inventionand various modifications can be made by those skilled in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for providing content items, the methodcomprising: generating for display to a user a first graphical controlelement comprising a first plurality of content identifiers of a firstplurality of content items on a display; determining a second pluralityof content items available for consumption that are on a user-definedfavorites list, wherein the second plurality of content items is asubset of the first plurality of content items; generating for display asecond graphical control element comprising a second plurality ofcontent identifiers of the second plurality of content items; receivingan input indicating that an indication of a first content item beremoved from the second graphical control element; and in response toreceiving the input: cross-referencing an attribute of the first contentitem with a database of a plurality of content items to identify asecond content item associated with the attribute, causing to be reduceda likelihood that a content identifier of the second content item isgenerated for display to the user in the future, and causing the contentidentifier of the first content item to be removed.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising causing to be provided a selectable optionto indicate removal of the content identifier of the first content itemfrom the second graphical control element.
 3. The method of claim 2,wherein receiving the input comprises receiving an indication that theuser selected the selectable option.
 4. The method of claim 1, whereincausing to be reduced the likelihood a content identifier of the secondcontent item is generated for display to the user in the futurecomprises preventing a content identifier of the second content itemfrom being provided.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:identifying a time to display the second plurality of contentidentifiers; and causing to be displayed, at the identified time, thesecond graphical control element comprising the second plurality ofcontent identifiers.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising, inresponse to receiving the input, causing to be reduced a likelihood thatcontent identifiers of content items similar to the second content itemare generated for display to the user in the future.
 7. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising, in response to receiving the input, causingto be provided a second selectable option to indicate removal of thefirst content item from the user-defined favorites list.
 8. The methodof claim 7, further comprising: receiving a second input indicating thatthe user selected the second selectable option; and in response toreceiving the second input, causing the first content item to be removedfrom the user-defined favorites list.
 9. A system for providing contentitems, the system comprising: one or more servers comprising controlcircuitry, the control circuitry configured to: generate for display toa user a first graphical control element comprising a first plurality ofcontent identifiers of a first plurality of content items on a display;determine a second plurality of content items available for consumptionthat are on a user-defined favorites list, wherein the second pluralityof content items is a subset of the first plurality of content items;generate for display a second graphical control element comprising asecond plurality of content identifiers of the second plurality ofcontent items; receive an input indicating that an indication of a firstcontent item be removed from the second graphical control element; andin response to receiving the input: cross-reference an attribute of thefirst content item with a database of a plurality of content items toidentify a second content item associated with the attribute, cause tobe reduced a likelihood that a content identifier of the second contentitem is generated for display to the user in the future, and cause thecontent identifier of the first content item to be removed.
 10. Thesystem of claim 9, wherein the control circuitry is further configuredto cause to be provided a selectable option to indicate removal of thecontent identifier of the first content item from the second graphicalcontrol element.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the controlcircuitry configured to receive the input is further configured toreceive an indication that the user selected the selectable option. 12.The system of claim 9, wherein the control circuitry configured to causeto be reduced the likelihood a content identifier of the second contentitem is generated for display to the user in the future is furtherconfigured to prevent a content identifier of the second content itemfrom being provided.
 13. The system of claim 9, wherein the controlcircuitry is further configured to: identify a time to display thesecond plurality of content identifiers; and cause to be displayed, atthe identified time, the second graphical control element comprising thesecond plurality of content identifiers.
 14. The system of claim 9,wherein the control circuitry is further configured to, in response toreceiving the input, cause to be reduced a likelihood that contentidentifiers of content items similar to the second content item aregenerated for display to the user in the future.
 15. The system of claim9, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to, in responseto receiving the input, cause to be provided a second selectable optionto indicate removal of the first content item from the user-definedfavorites list.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein the controlcircuitry is further configured to: receive a second input indicatingthat the user selected the second selectable option; and in response toreceiving the second input, cause the first content item to be removedfrom the user-defined favorites list.
 17. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium having non-transitory computer readableinstructions encoded thereon for providing content items that, whenexecuted by control circuitry, cause the control circuitry to: generatefor display to a user a first graphical control element comprising afirst plurality of content identifiers of a first plurality of contentitems on a display; determine a second plurality of content itemsavailable for consumption that are on a user-defined favorites list,wherein the second plurality of content items is a subset of the firstplurality of content items; generate for display a second graphicalcontrol element comprising a second plurality of content identifiers ofthe second plurality of content items; receive an input indicating thatan indication of a first content item be removed from the secondgraphical control element; and in response to receiving the input:cross-reference an attribute of the first content item with a databaseof a plurality of content items to identify a second content itemassociated with the attribute, cause to be reduced a likelihood that acontent identifier of the second content item is generated for displayto the user in the future, and cause the content identifier of the firstcontent item to be removed.
 18. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 17, wherein execution of the instructions further causesthe control circuitry to cause to be provided a selectable option toindicate removal of the content identifier of the first content itemfrom the second graphical control element.
 19. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein execution of theinstruction causing the control circuitry to receive the input furthercauses the control circuitry to receive an indication that the userselected the selectable option.
 20. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 17, wherein execution of the instruction causing thecontrol circuitry to cause to be reduced the likelihood a contentidentifier of the second content item is generated for display to theuser in the future further causes the control circuitry to prevent acontent identifier of the second content item from being provided. 21.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, whereinexecution of the instructions further causes the control circuitry to:identify a time to display the second plurality of content identifiers;and cause to be displayed, at the identified time, the second graphicalcontrol element comprising the second plurality of content identifiers.22. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, whereinexecution of the instruction further causes the control circuitry to, inresponse to receiving the input, cause to be reduced a likelihood thatcontent identifiers of content items similar to the second content itemare generated for display to the user in the future.
 23. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein executionof the instructions further causes the control circuitry to, in responseto receiving the input, cause to be provided a second selectable optionto indicate removal of the first content item from the user-definedfavorites list.
 24. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim23, wherein execution of the instructions further causes the controlcircuitry to: receive a second input indicating that the user selectedthe second selectable option; and in response to receiving the secondinput, cause the first content item to be removed from the user-definedfavorites list.